Bottles and Nipples

Recently, I have found myself vexed in quandary; What to do about our bottle and nipple situation.

The Kid is now in need of the fast flow nipples. When it was time to upgrade from slow to medium flow, it was simple. We only had a few bottles. Now, we have a quadrillion of them, give or take. And they all need different nipples.

So, how does one rectify this situation?

I do appreciate all the gifts we've received. From the little toys to the jogger stroller. We've gotten a ton of small 'things.' We also we given the crib, the pack-and-play and a ton of other big ticket items. We really couldn't afford the keep it all one style or type. I know some folk are able to, but, much like the rest of my life, it's all a modge podge.

Such was the bottles. We had received a lot of the smaller ones from the hospital. They did a great job of setting us up initially. We had an issue with breast feeding. Cori would only drink from a feeding tube, so for the first few weeks, we didn't need much. We moved to a 4 oz bottle shortly after. We had only a few and needed only a few.

Then came the move to the medium flow nipples. In the baby shower and before the Kid got here, we were gifted several larger bottles. The 8 and 9 oz bottles all had different nipples. Most were already medium flow. Some even had large flow. Now, at 6 months of use however, they've begun to leak or become obsolete.

The options we have for upgrading to a fast flow nipple are not that great. The only REAL option is to buy just the fast flow nipples. But, since we have several different bottles, some that won't fit universal nipples, we have to buy several different types. My plan is to simplify.

Even though it will cost more, I plan on making this easy. The Gerber type bottles that I have will work. They take universal nipples and have fast flow replacements. And replacement bottles are a smaller cost than most. If there must be a cost that is incurred, (let's face it, it's a kid. There WILL be costs that are incurred,) then let's make it a cheaper one. The quality ain't half bad either.

Looking at the whole situation overall, I can't complain though. Thanks to all the support staff, we really didn't have to buy a lot in this area so far. So if I have to pay a little bit to simplify this process, I will gladly throw a few dollars at it.

The attached chart, (from Iplay), explains the different bottle stages:



Currently, the Kid and I are in Stage 3. She needs the faster flow nipple, but is supplementing that with Sippy cups. (More on that later.)

If you want to know more about where you can buy bottles and nipples, I personally use these resources:
Toys R Us
Amazon
Walmart (if I have to, their quality is iffy, but they are always cheap.)
Walgreens / CVS
Ross (Only sometimes do I really luck out here. They are ALWAYS great for clothes though.)